Shelly Yichoy's Blog – April 2011 Archive (6)

Nine years from now, I'll be eating dinner with my husband at home. We buy all of our food from farmers markets to support the local economy and to make sure all of our food is fresh and pesticide/chemical free. Our meal will consist of a lot of vegetables, an adequate amount of meat, and some sort of grain. I believe in eating a well balanced diet to ensure optimal health. However, I do have a sweet tooth, and I don't imagine that will go away anytime soon. I enjoy baking so there will… Continue

A way to make food easier to share with others is to organize a group in your neighborhood that collects excess food/donations on a weekly or bi-weekly basis and then deliver it to a local shelter. I think many people are willing to help the community, but many are too lazy to put the time in. Organizing a group in your neighborhood will make donating easier and more consistent for those who feel their lives are too busy to put in the time. Group members can assign certain weeks or months where… Continue

The biggest issue with food security is being able to afford fresh foods. There is a huge population in the United States that is living in poverty. Often times, families with low incomes must resort to cheap fast food as their primary source of food. Most people don't realize that fresh food is available at a cheap price. Farmer's Markets are located in every city and are easily accessable to the public. Other families cannot even afford to feed every member of their family and must sacrifice… Continue

In 2020, I will be 31. By this time, I imagine I will be working at a job I love that is also beneficial to society. I imagine that exactly 9 years from today will be any ordinary day. Go to work, spend time with the people I love, and make time for some sort of activity (i.e. out to dinner, gym session, etc.). If I would get called upon for the Tokyo food crisis, I would probably implement the basics of farming again. It would take a long time to reverse, but our lands are contaminated from… Continue

I chose Bart Weetjens as my hero. He is the founder of HeroRAT which is an organization that is dedicated to clearing land mines in Tanzania. His organization trains rats to sniff out mines in the fields so they can be diffused and removed from the land. Dogs were primarily used for this operation, but Weetjens realized that rats are more efficient. Rats are a better tool for sniffing out these land mines because they are lighter (less chance of setting off a mine), cheaper to maintain, and are… Continue

One of the more important secrets, in my opinion, was the "don't fight the culture" tip. It's important to be respectful of the culture we are attempting to help. If we barge into their territory and begin telling them how to "improve" their lives, it is likely that help will be rejected because we will come off as controlling. I think it is most important to approach the culture we are looking to help through their eyes and their understanding. This is the best way to establish a good and… Continue